Dredge



Feb. 10, 1931. i I A. B. BOWERS 1,792,065

DREDGE Filed May 15, 1927 5 Sheets-Sheet l By George E'Hqyan fxecufor. 5 4/1) M W q zj A. B. BOWERS Feb. 10, 1931.

DREDGE Filed May 13, 1927 S'SheetS-Sheet 2 Feb. 10, 1931. A BOWERS 1,792,065

DREDGE Filed May 15, 1927 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 fi/ oborzso 5. Boa/Pia, deceased G'eo ye 5.99m; Execuf' /f Patented Feb. 10, 1931 ALPHONSO B. BOWERS, DECEASED, LATE -ATENT OFFICE OF LYNN, MASSACHUSETTS, BY GEORGE F.

HOGAN, EXECUTOB, OF LYNN,MASSACHUSETTS DREDGE .Application filed May 13,

This invention relates to a dredge having novel means for advancing the same, and

about a vertical aXis.

The invention will be best" understood reference to the following description, when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings of one specific embodiment thereof, while its scope will be more particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

In the drawings: Fig. lis a side elevation of a dredge exemplifying the invention;

Fig. 2 is a plan of the same, but showing thehull swung laterally to one side of the line of advance;

Fig. 3 is a side elevation on an enlarged scale, illustrating the advancing and swinging mechanism; V

Fig. 4 is a plan of the parts shown in Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a plan on an enlarged scale, il-

lustrating a thrust bearing shown in Fig. 4, but with the bearing cap removed;

Fig. 6 is an elevation illustrating an automatic switch forming a part of the circuit of a motor, which drives thepropulsionanchor or spud;

Fig. 7 is a diagrammatic representation of the circuit for the control of the propulsion motor;

Fig. 8 is an elevation, partly in vertical section, illustrating the mechanism for inclicating the amplitude of the swinging motion of the hull, and for indicating the position of the cutter at any given instant, with relation to the line of advance;

Fig. 9 is a plan of a portion ofthe mechanism shown in Fig. 8; and I Fig. 10 is a diagrammatic view illustrating the mode of advancing and swinging the dredge.

Referring to the drawings, and tothe embodiment of the invention which is selected 1927. Serial No. 191,189. g

for exemplification, .and having reference at first particularly to Fig. 2, the dredge comprises a hull 11, presenting a slot 12 for a ladder 13, which swings vertically in said slot in the usual manner, and carries a cutter 1 1 driven by a shaft 15, to which power isv applied by a motor 16. The latteralso carries a usual suction pipe 17 having customary swiveled connection with an intake pipe 18 leading to an engine-driven pump 19, from] which a discharge pipe 20 leads to the opposite end of the hull, where it is connected to an outward" discharge pipe 21 supported by pontoons 22,. Referring now to Fig. 1, the ladder is-raised-and lowered by ausual derrick 23. A customarydeckhouse 24 includes a usual pilot house, or operating room, 25.

The prcpeilingand swinging mechanism will now be described, reference being had first to A vertically-disposed, pivotal anchor, or spud, 26 is mounte-dfoi vertical movement in a vertically-disposed anchor guide 2?, herein having a generally tubular formation. Within this guide, the anchor may be. moved vertically by appropriate means, herein a rope 28, secured to the anchor and leading inan upward direction, through the guide, to and over a sheave- Wheel 29,. and thence to and about a winding drum 30 (see Fig. i to which it is secured. This drum is loosely mounted on a driving, shaft 31, to whichit may be clutched by a clutch 32, having an operating handle 33. The shaft is driven by a motor 34, to which it is connected by appropriate mechanism, herein including a gear and pinion 36. The anchor guide is mounted to turn in bearings presented by upper and lower collars 37, having brackets 38 by which they are attached to the hull. Herein, the collars are split. as at 39 (see Fig. 9), and each is composed of two sections hinged as at 10 and secured together as by bolts 41, enabling the guide to be removed from its place when desired.

The anchor guide 27 constitutes a part of a swinging anchor frame, herein comprising two parallel upper bars 42 and two parallel lower bars 43, rigidly secured to the anchor guide 27, and connected to each other by one or more verical bars 44. The bars 42 are extended in a forward direction past the anchor guide 27, and support a platform 45, which carries some of the operating mechanism.

The propulsion anchor or spud and its operating mechanism will now be described, reference still being had to Fig. 3. A vertically-disposed propulsion anchor, or spud, 46, is mounted to slide vertically in a guide 47, herein tubular in form. The anchor is moved vertically in its guide by appropriate mechanism, herein a rope 48, secured to the anchor and leading in an upward direction through the guide to and over a sheave-wheel 49, and thence to and about a winding drum 50 (see Fig. 4), which is loosely mounted on, but may be clutched to, the driving shaft 31 by a clutch 51, having an operating handle 52.

The upper and lower pairs of bars 42 and 43 present guideways with relation to which the propulsion anchor guide 47 is mounted to move horizontally, said guide being appropriately supported, as by laterally pro- 'ecting flanges 53 (see Fig. 4 which rest upon the upper bars 42. The parallelism of the two anchor guides is enforced by suitable mechanism, herein link work comprising a vertical bar 54 (see Fig. 3), connected to the guide 27 by upper and lower links 55, and to the guide 47 by upper and lower links 56. Thus any possibility of the anchor guide 47 cramping or binding in its guideways as it moves forward and backward is avoided. V

The mechanism for moving the guide 37 relatively to the anchor frame will now be described, reference being had to Fig. 4. To the guide there is secured a nut 57, having screw-threaded engagement with a feedscrew 58, whose rear end is mounted in a bearing bracket 59. The other end is mounted in a thrust bearing 60, which, as shown in Fig. 5, presents one or more grooves 61 for collars 62 suitably formed on or secured to the feed-screw shaft. It is therefore apparent that rotation of the feed-screw in the proper direction will cause the desired motion of the propulsion anchor guide 47. Herein, this rotation is accomplished by a reversible motor 63 (see Fig. 4), connected to the feed-screw shaft by appropriate mechanism, herein a pinion 64 and gear 65, meshing therewith.

Referring now to Fig. 7, the motor is started into operation by a manually operable switch 64, its speed is varied by a controlling rheostat 65, and its direction of rotation is controlled by a reversing switch 66, all of common form, included in the motor circuit. To stop the motor when the anchor guide reaches either end of its travel, there is shunted across the manually operable switch 64 a suitable automatic switch 66, appropri ately operated by the anchor guide in its travel. Herein, the automatic switch shown in Fig. 6 is provided with a housing 67 for two fixed contacts 68 and two movable contacts 69, the latter being carried bv a pivoted insulating block 70, having a self-restoring spring 71, which returns the switch to its closed position after it has been opened by mechanism new to be described.

A switch-operating rod 72 is mounted at its rear end in a guide presented by a bracket 73, and at its other end in guides 74 and 75, presented by the pivotal anchor guide 27. A. suitable spring 76, herein helically coiled about the rod 72, rests at one end against the guide 75 and at its other against a collar 77 fixedly secured to the rod 72, and constantly tends to move the rod rearwardly. When the propulsion anchor guide 47 approaches the rearward limit of its motion, it engages one end of a lever 78, which is fulcrum-ed at 79, and whose other end engages the rear end of the rod 72. This moves the rod in a forward direction against the yielding resistance presented by the spring 7 On the other hand, when the propulsion anchor guide 47 approac ies the forward limit of its movement, a. lug 80 carried by the anchor guide strikes a collar 81 fixedly secured to the rod, and moves the latter in a forward oirection. In either case, the front end of the rod, by its engagement with another rod (see Fig. 6) causes the switch to be opened against the yielding opposition presented by the spring 71. The other rod 82, intervening between the long rod 72 and the switch, is in the nature of a floating pin, which if desired may be provided with a restoring spring 83, helically coiled about the same, and bearing at one end against a collar 84 on the pin, and at its other end against a fixed abutment 85 presented by the switch housing 67.

Referring again to Fig. 7, the manuallyoperable switch 64 should be opened. immcdiately upon the starting of the motor 63; otherwise, the automatic switch would not be elfective'to stop the motor. Accordingly, if desired, the manually-operable switch may be pro 'ided with an appropriate spring 86, which will open the switch as soon as the operator releases his grasp upon it.

The swinging of the hull about the pivot presented by the pivotal anchor 26 may be accomplished either by the use of usual bowlines 87 (see Fig. 2), or by mechanism now to be described, reference being had to 3 and 4. Assuming both anchors 26 and 46 to be driven into the earth, thereby to hold the anchor frame in fixed position, the hull may be, swung laterallywith relation'to the anchoriframe by appropriate mechanism connecting one to the other,.the same herein comprising a gear 88 secured to the hull and meshing with a pinion 89 carriedby theanchor 1 in a clutch 91 havinga shaft92 to which there is secured a bevelpinion 93, meshinglwith a beveled gear 94, the latter being secured to a vertical shaft 95, to which thepinion 89 is secured. Thus the hull may be swung to and fro during the operation of the dredge.

The indicator which furnishes to the operator a visual indication of the position of the cutter with referencetothe median line of the out, i. e. the line ofadvance, will now be described, reference being bad to Fig. 8.

Placed at a convenient-point, as within the operating room 25, there is an indicator,

herein comprising ahand or pointer 96, which plays to and fro over a suitably graduated scale 97 appropriately supported as by posts 98. These posts also support a drum 99, having a shaft 100, to which the pointer is se- 7 cured. An endless rope or cord 101, passing over and about the drum 99, leads therefrom upward about sheave wheels 102, thence downward and over sheave-wheels 103, thence rearwardly over sheave-wheels 104 and 105, and finally to and about a drum 106, which is disposed about. and secured to the anchor guide 27. When, therefore, the hull swings to and fro about the anchor guide 27, there will be a corresponding movement of the pointer 96 to and fro over the scale 97.

The general operation of the dredge will now be described, reference being had to Fig. 10. The line of advance, or median line, of the out is represented by the line A-A.. Assuming that both anchors or .spuds are embedded in the ground, as shown in full lines in Fig. 1, and assuming that the hull occupies theiposition shown in full lines in Fig. 10,

the first cut is made by swinging the hull from left to right the required distance by the use of the-rack and pinion mechanism iwhich connects the hull to the anchor frame.

The hull is now to be advanced an appropriate distance, usually approximately the length of the cutter. This is accomplished by first lifting the propulsion anchor 46 from ;the ground, then carrying it forward, and

,the position shown in dottedilinesxinxFigs. 1

andw10,,.whereupon the pivtotal anchor is lowered into -the. ground, and the: dredge is in. readiness forthe second sweep of thexhull and cutter from the-dotted line-position shown in Fig.:10 toward the left, thus'pro- 'ducing a cut-which isnearly parallel with But while thismode of the previous one.

operation contemplates cessation of the cut 7 during the advance of thedredge, it is of course perfectly possible vto continue the cutting operation during the progression along the'line of advance.

-Having thus described one embodiment of the invention, but without .being limited thereto, what isrclaimed and desired by Letters Patent to be secured is:

1. In a dredger, the combination of a hull,

a frame outside of. and'pivoted tosaid bull to turn about a. vertical axis, said frame presenting a vertical spud guide and a horizontal guideway, a second vertical spud guide guided by said guideway to move horizon tally toward and from the first, means connecting said frame to saidhull to swing one relatively to the other about said axis, means for imparting to the second spud guide a positive, forward'and backward movement along said guideway toward and from'the first, vertical spuds 'guided'by said spud guides, respectively, and means for moving said spuds vertically relatively to their respective guides. V

2. In a dredger, the combination of a hull, a frame outside of and pivoted to said bull to turn about a'vertical axis, said frame presenting a vertical spud guide and a horizontal guideway, -a second vertical spud guide guided by saidguideway to move toward and from the first, means connecting said frame to said hull to swing one relatively to the other about said axis, means for impart-.

ing to said second spud guide a positive, forward and backward movement along said guideway toward and from the first, positive means distinctfrom said guideway for maintaining said second spud guide parallel with the first, vertical spuds guided by said spud guides, respectively,'and means for moving said spuds vertically relatively to their respective guides.

3. In a dredger, the combination of a hull, a frame outside of and pivoted tosaid hull to turn about a vertical axis, said frame presenting a vertical spud guide and a horizontal guideway, a second vertical spud guide guided by said guideway to move horizontally toward and from the first, means connecting said frame to said hull to swing one relatively to the other, about said axis, means including a'screw. and nut for moving the second spud guide positively in opposite directions along said guideway, vertical spuds guided by said spud guides, respectively, and meansfor moving said spuds vertically relatively to their respective guides.

4. In a dredger, the combination of a hull, a frame outside of'and pivoted to said hull to turn about a vertical axis, said frame presenting a vertical spud guide and a horizontal guideway, a second vertical spud guide guided by said guideway to move toward and from the first, means connecting said frame to said hull to swing one relatively to the other about said axis, means for imparting tofisaid second spud guide a positive, forward and backward movement along said guideway, means comprising a linkwork for maintaining said second spud guide parallel with the first, vertical spuds guided by said xspud guides, respectively, and means for moving said spuds v u'tically relatively to their respective guides.

5.111 a dredger, the combination of a hull, a frame outside of and pivoted to said vhull to turn about a vertical axis, said frame presenting a vertical spud guide and a horizontal guideway, a second vertical spud guide guided by said guideway to move toward and from the first, means connecting said frame to said hull to swing one relatively to the other about said axis, means for moving said second spud guide horizontally along said guideway toward and from the first, means comprising upper and lower toggles and a link connecting said toggles for maintaining said second spud guide parallel with the first, vertical spuds guided by said spud guides, respectively, and means for moving said spuds vertically relatively to their respective guides.

6. In a dred er, the combination of a hull, a frame outside of and pivoted to said hull to turn about a vertical axis, said frame presenting a vertical spud guide and a horizontal guideway, a second vertical spud guide guided by said uideway to move horizontally toward and from the first, means connecting said frame to said hull to swing one relatively to the other about said axis, means for moving the second send guide horizontally along said guide-way toward and from the first, means automatically to stop the movement of the second guide in both directions, vertical spuds guided by said spud guides, respectively, and means for moving said spuds vertically relatively to their res1 ective guides.

7. In dredger, the combination of a hull, a frame outside of and pivoted to said hull to turn about a vertical axis, said frame presenting a vertical spud guide and a horizontal guideway, a second vertical spud guide guided by said guideway to move horizontally toward and from the first, means connecting said frame to said hull to swing one rela tively to the other about said axis, means including a motor for moving the second spud guide horizontally along said guideway toward and from the first, means automatically to stop said motor and to predetermine the travel of the second spud guide in both directions, vertical spuds carried by said spuc guides, respectively, and means for moving said spuds vertically relatively to their respective guides.

8. In a dredger, the combination of a hull, a frame outside of and pivoted to said hull to turn about a vertical axis, said frame presenting a vertical spud guide and a horizontal guideway, a second vertical spud guide guided by said guideway to move horizontally toward and from the first, means connecting said frame to said hull to swing one relatively to the other about said axis, means connecting said frame and said hull for indicating at a point remote from said frame the relative angular position of said hull and said frame, means for moving the second spud guide horizontally along said guideway toward and from the first, vertical spuds guided by said spud guides, respectively, and means for moving said spuds vertically relatively to their respective guides.

9. in a dredger, the combination of a hull, a frame outside of and pivoted to said hull to l u about a vertical axis, said frame presenta vertical spud. guide and a horizontal uideway, a second vertical spud guide *lcd by said guideway to move horizontoward and from the first, means con- .iecting said frame to said hull to swing one relatively to the other about said axis, means including a member wrapped about the lirst spud guide and connecting said frame and said hul for indicating at a point remote from said frame the relative angular position of said hull and said frame, means for moving the second spud guide horizontally along said guideway toward and from the first, vertical spuds guided by said spud guides, respectively, and means for moving said spuds vertically relatively to their respective guioes.

10. In a drec ger, the combination of a hull, a frame outside of and pivoted to said hull to turn about a vertical axis, said frame presenting a vertical spud guide and a horizontal guideway, a second vertical. spud guide guided by said guideway to move horizontally toward and from the first, means connecting said frame to said hull to swing one relatively to the other about said axis, means including a pointer on said hull and a connection between said pointer and said frame for indicating the relative angular position of said hull and said frame, means for moving the second spud guide horizontally along said guideway toward and from the first, vertical spuds guided by said spud guides, respectively, and means for moving said spuds vertically relatively to their respective guides.

ll. In a dredger, the combination of a hull. a frame outside of and pivoted to said hull to turn about a vertical axis said frame precarried by said frame for moving the second spudguide horizontally along said guideway toward and from the first, vertical spuds guided by said spud guides,respectively, and

, means carried by said frame for moving said 1.

spuds vertically relatively to their respective guides.

a frame outside of and pivoted to said hull to turn about a vertical axis, said frame presenting a vertical spud guide and a horizontal guideway, a second vertical spud guide guided by said guideway to movehorizontally toward and from the first, means connecting said frame to said bull to swing one relatively to the other about said axis, means for'moving' ly toward and from the first, means including a motor-and a motor-driven pinion carried by said frameand a gear segment carried by said hull connectingsaid frame tosaid hull to swing one relatively to the other about said axis, means for moving the second spud guide horizontally along said guideway toward and fr'omthe first, vertical spuds guided by said spud guides, respectively, and means, for moving said spuds vertically relatively to their respective guides.

In testimony whereof, I have signed v I "name to this specification. 12. In a dredger, the combination of a hull,

ALPHONSO B. BOWERS, Deceased, By GEORGE HOGAN,

' Executor.

the second spudguide horizontally along said I guideway toward and from the first, vertical spuds guided by said spud guides, respectively, and means including two drums carried by said frame, for moving said spuds-vertically relatively to their respective guides.

13. In a dredger, the combination of a hull,

a frame outside of and pivoted to said hull to turn about a vertical axis,'said frame presenting a vertical spud guide and ahorizontal guideway, a second vertical spud guide guided'by said guideway to move horizontally toward and from the first, means connecting said frame to said hull to swing one relatively to the other about said axis, means for moving the second spud guide horizontally along said guideway toward and from the first, vertical spuds guided by said spud guides, respectively, and means including two drums, andtwo drum-operating clutches carried by said frame for moving said spuds vertically relatively to their respective guides.

14. In a dredger, the combination of a hull, a frame outside of and pivoted to said bull to turn about a vertical axis, said frame presenting a vertical spud guide and a horizontal guideway, a second vertical spud guide guided by said guideway to move horizontally toward and from the first, means including a; plnion and a segmental gear connecting said frame to said hull to swing one relatively to the other about said axis, means for moving the second spud'guide horizontally along said 7 ly, and means formoving said spuds vertically relatively to their respective guides.

15. In a dredger, the combination of a hull, V

a frame outside of and pivoted to said bull to turn about a vertical axis, said frame presenting a vertical spud guide and a horizontal guideway, a second vertical spud guide guided by said guideway to move horizontal- 

